Cave of Salemas

A solutional cave near the village of Lousa in Loures municipality, Lisbon District, Portugal, situated in a Cretaceous limestone outcrop. First explored in 1959 by L. Albuquerque e Castro and fully excavated by the Geological Survey of Portugal in 1959-1960, radiocarbon dating places human remains at approximately 25,000 to 20,000 years ago. Lower levels yielded Solutrean lithic and bone tools alongside fauna including brown bears, cave bears, leopards, and hyenas, while upper Neolithic layers contained ceramics and human bones from a necropolis. Artifacts are held in Lisbon's Geological Museum.